Mahaneh dan
“Camp of Dan”
Summary
Mahaneh-dan ('camp of Dan') was the site where the Danites encamped on their migration northward to conquer Laish, and where the Spirit of the Lord first began to move Samson.
☩Location
Mahaneh-dan was located 'behind' (west of) Kirjath-jearim, between Zorah and Eshtaol in the territory originally allotted to Dan. This was the region where the tribe of Dan gathered before migrating northward to seize the city of Laish, unable to secure their original inheritance against the Philistines.
☩Samson's Early Movements
It was in this same region, between Zorah and Eshtaol, that 'the Spirit of the Lord began to move' the young Samson. This was the home territory where Samson grew up, where he later married, and where he was eventually buried in the tomb of his father Manoah.
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Mahaneh-dan," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Mahaneh Dan," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).